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Do You Understand All of the Safety Features in Your Vehicle?

Recent studies have shown that many Americans don’t fully understand the ways the technologies in their vehicles are keeping them safe on the road. In fact, many reported feeling caught off-guard when these features kicked in, thinking the vehicle may have malfunctioned.

According to a study from the University of Iowa, 40% of drivers have reported their vehicles reacting in “unexpected” ways. The majority of respondents were familiar with at least one of the nine safety features included in the study, but were not familiar with all of them. The following features were included in the study:

Adaptive Cruise Control

Anti-lock Braking Systems

Automatic Emergency Braking System

Back-up Camera

Blind Spot Monitor

Lane Departure Warning

Forward Collision Warning

Traction Control

Rear Cross Traffic Alert

You can find the full published study, which examined both knowledge of safety features and the use of defensive driving techniques, here.

In order to address the issues brought to light by this survey, the University of Iowa partnered with the National Safety Council to create a national campaign to help educate consumers. MyCarDoesWhat.org offers consumers information about safety features, as well as instructional videos to show how these features work. The campaign also plans to develop graphics, animation, social media, a game, and even an app to help educate drivers.